A/N: This has absolutely no relevance, but if I don't get it out, I'm gonna go nuts. Has anyone seen "X-Men"? If you haven't, GO OUT AND BUY IT!!! I luv the movie. I LUV Wolverine. Wait, did I say luv? I meant I am OBSESSED! I watched the movie twice in three nights. And I rarely watch a movie twice in a YEAR! Hugh Jackson is just... Yow, baby! Hehe, so I have a thing for guys with attitude and long hair. Aight, that had zip to do with Escaflowne. Just one more thing! THERE HAD BETTER BE A SEQUEL, AND HUGH JACKSON BETTER STAR!!!! Enjoy my fic, and please no hurt me for my rant...



Naoko dreamed, although she didn't realize it. Images flashed through her mind at an incredible speed; blurred images of her past. Her first meeting with Dilandau; their strong friendship; how Dilandau taught her to use a sword and beat Mattie; his final, aching betrayal.

"Where am I?" Naoko mumbled.

Everything around her was in shades of grey and black. Faceless people stumbled past her, intent on some unknown destination. Naoko shivered as one brushed past her, leaving her skin feeling clammy and cold. She pulled away, crashing into another shadow person. A low moan escaped her as the shadow passed right through her, chilling her to the bone.

"Get me out of here!" She cried, but her only answer was the haunting moans.

Naoko wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered in the chill air. Her breath caught in her throat as a pair of baleful yellow eyes appeared through the mist. They blinked twice, then there were dull, muffled footsteps coming towards her. Naoko's eyes widened and she automatically put a hand down for the sword that was no longer there. A surreal form appeared out of the mist, vaguely human in shape.

"Stay away!" Naoko stammered, clenching her fists. "I don't know who or what you are, but just leave me alone!"

"How can you say that about me, Naoko? We were such good friends..." It was Dilandau's voice, but there was a ghostly quality to it.

The figure solidified, revealing a pale form of Dilandau. He smiled twistedly, reaching out a hand with long claws towards Naoko.

"You're not Dilandau." Naoko said in a low, harsh voice. She backed away. "Dilandau was my best friend, and I know there's still some good in him! Get lost!"

The shadow chuckled menacingly, advancing with whispered footsteps. "Naoko, Naoko, Naoko. You know you are mine. You were mine since that day we first met, when I saved you from Mattie. I saved your life, and you are mine."

"You lie. I belong only to myself. You're not real! I don't believe in you! Go away!!" Naoko yelled, stumbling over a black object on the ground.

The shade giggled insanely, crouching over Naoko and reaching out a wispy hand. Naoko punched it, but her hand just passed through its insubstantial body. It grabbed her shoulders and stared her in the eyes. Naoko struggled, but despite her failed attempt to touch it, it had no problem holding onto her with an iron grip.

"Let go of me! Let go!" Naoko shrieked.

"I told you I would get you, Naoko. Draconian girl. Freak!"

Naoko stared in horror as the shade's face twisted and became a horrible caricature of Mattie's. Flesh had wasted away, revealing silver-white bone. What little hair it had left was lank and hung limply over it's face. Dark blood, almost black, dripped steadily from the gaping hole in its chest. Naoko could see the blurred background through it.

"I-I killed you..." Naoko whispered.

"I know you killed me." The shade hissed, its fetid breath icy against Naoko's face. "But, you see, I can come back." The shade giggled again. "And you can never get away from me in here."

"No! The dead do not come back. I paid for killing Mattie, and I'm sorry for it. I never meant to kill him! But he just-just kept teasing me, and finally I couldn't take it anymore! I meant to just show him I could defend myself, but he moved, and-and..." Tears streaked Naoko's cheeks, sparkling in the dimness of the spirit world.

"But you did kill me. Now I get to kill you."

"You're just a shade! A demon, a shadow! I don't have to explain myself to you; I realized my sin and paid for it! Get away!"

Naoko kicked wildly, and for an instant her foot connected with the shade, sending him flying back into the air. He disintegrated in mid-air, leaving a white ash. An insane giggle echoed through the air as Naoko felt herself being pulled into a gaping black void. She struggled to control the wildly spinning colors around her, getting dizzier and dizzier. Her head began to pound and her vision blurred. She screamed for help, unconsciously repeating Dilandau's name over and over.

"Naoko! Naoko, wake up!"

Naoko struggled against whoever was holding her down. A hand covered her mouth and she tried to breathe. Flailing wildly, her hand suddenly connected with something soft. There was a grunt of pain, and then she was free. She dropped over the side of the bed, hitting her knee off the wooden posts, and held her stomach as she retched dryly.

"Naoko, it's okay. You're okay now." The voice was soft, soothing and familiar.

"Dilandau?" Naoko asked weakly. "Is it really you?"

"Yes. What happened? You were crying out." Dilandau replied, kneeling and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Oh, it was awful." Naoko cried, turning and burying her face in Dilandau's shirt front. He held her as she sobbed wildly.

"Naoko, you have to tell me what happened. Maybe I can help."

"No, no, I'm fine now." Naoko pulled away and wiped her eyes roughly on her shirt. "Really, don't worry about me. It was just a dream."

"If you're sure..." Dilandau said doubtfully, standing up and extending his hand to Naoko. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. "You sounded terrified."

"I'm sure." Naoko smiled faintly.

"Dilandau!" The call echoed down the hallway. It was Folken.

"I better go." Dilandau said, straightening his tunic and regaining his imperious air. "You'll be okay in here alone?" There was concern in his eyes.

"Perfect." Naoko replied. "I'll probably just go back to sleep. I still feel exhausted and my head aches."

"Dilandau Albatou!"

Dilandau cast an exasperated look at the door, then glanced again at Naoko. She smiled at him and he smiled back before turning on his heel and stalking out the door. Outside, Naoko heard him yelling at his Dragon Slayers exactly as though nothing had changed. Naoko felt momentarily uneasy. Dilandau seemed as though he had become sane again, but how could she be sure? And the nightmare had been awful.

Naoko stood up and walked over to the closet. A clean pair of breeches and a tunic hung in the otherwise bare closet. She pulled them both off their hangers and tossed them on the bed. Stretching, she felt muscles twinge in her back and shoulders. She pulled her shirt over her head and was turning to get the tunic when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. On her shoulders, crimson on the pale skin, was the mark of a pair of hands.



"I will have to consult the Emperor about what to do with the girl." Folken mused, striding down the hallway with Dilandau beside him.

"She is a traitor." Dilandau hissed. "She should be killed for her trickery and deception against Zaibach."

Folken looked down at him with a mixture of exasperation and faint contempt. "We will see what the Emperor says. He will decide what punishment she should have."

Dilandau sighed inwardly. He was finding it very hard to keep up this act. He could hardly believe he had ever been this bloodthirsty, cloudy mind or no. For a heart-stopping moment, he had thought Folken would agree with him. He forced himself to pay attention as they walked into the common room, glaring at the Dragon Slayers who were closest to him.

"Lord Dilandau, is it true? Is Nao really a girl?" Someone called out from the back of the room.

Dilandau looked around for the speaker, narrowing his eyes, but the fellow had disappeared. He wasn't sure by the voice either. It seemed he was seeing everything for the first time.

"It is true, but the girl is a traitor and shall be punished as such." He growled.

He looked around at the Dragon Slayers and caught a glimpse of Gatti's strained and pale face. His eyes were wide with terror as he remembered what the punishment for a traitor was. Death. Dilandau made a mental note to find out more about Gatti and his relationship to Naoko.




A strangled sound escaped Naoko's throat as she stared at the imprint of large hands across her shoulders. She dropped the shirt she was holding and craned her neck to see her shoulders. The angry red imprints stretched part-way down her shoulder blades.

As she saw the marks, she suddenly realized her back was sore and her shoulders ached. Slowly, she turned her back to the mirror and stretched to see her back. A large bruise was forming on her lower back- exactly where she had landed when she had tripped in what she had believed was a dream.

"Don't be stupid, Naoko." She muttered angrily. "It was only a dream; I probably bruised my back when I fell off the bed, and Dilandau was shaking me."

Shakily, she bent and picked up her shirt, then threw it across her bed and changed into the clean clothes. Still trying to convince herself that it was only a dream and the marks were a coincidence, she started to fold the breeches up.

"It's only a coincidence..." she mumbled, shaking out her shirt.

For a second, she only stared at the front of the shirt. Her heart stopped dead in her chest as she saw the evidence. She dropped the shirt and backed away, her mouth opened in a silent shriek. The shirt landed with the tell-tale splashes of blood up. Naoko's scream echoed throughout the fortress.



Dilandau's head snapped up as he heard the scream. His Dragon Slayers murmured uneasily, but the scream wasn't repeated. Dilandau forced himself to remain outwardly calm, though his heart beat wildly. Folken was watching him calmly, that knowing gleam in his eye. Dilandau looked at him coldly, then motioned for Gatti to come forward.

"Gatti, that came from the direction of the prisoner's room. Go and see what her problem is." He snapped. Gatti nodded quickly and ran out of the room.



Her breathing irregular, Naoko backed into the wall, jumping as her shoulders hit it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, willing the bloodstains to have disappeared when she opened them again. She opened her eyes and looked at the shirt. Her stomach protested violently as she saw that it hadn't been a vision; the bloodstains were real and they were growing...

Naoko screamed again, running to the door and flinging it open. She collided with Gatti as he reached a hand for the doorknob and knocked them both over. She kicked at Gatti as he grabbed her arms, connecting solidly with his ribs. He grunted in pain and lost his grip. She grabbed the dagger from his belt and held it in front of her as she jumped up and backed away.

"Naoko, it's me. Gatti." Gatti said, getting slowly to his feet, one hand pressed against his side. "What happened?"

"You're not Gatti!" Naoko yelled at him, waving the dagger threateningly. "You're the shade, the dream never ended and the blood, it's growing, it's growing! I didn't mean to kill him, I honestly didn't! Please, just leave me alone... Just let me wake up!"

"Naoko, you're awake! I really am Gatti. Do you remember that day we went down to the lake and those two ladies started gossiping about us? We told everyone we were just collecting flowers, but no one believed us. My mother forbade me to see you for weeks. She was sure we'd run away together. Say you remember, Naoko." Gatti said, taking a step forward.

Naoko stared at him, her face white except for two glowing spots on her cheeks. Her eyes were wild and bright with fever. She was shaking all over, twisting the bottom of her shirt nervously with the hand not holding the dagger. Tears streaked her face.

"I want to believe you..." she whispered. "I so want to believe you. But as soon as I say I remember, you'll become Mattie, or Yolanda, or Dilandau, or my parents... Maybe you'll even become the real Nao!"

"What are you talking about? I'm Gatti, I always have been and always will be. How could I become Lord Dilandau, or your parents?"

"You're the shade, and you tried to trick me once before. You won't do it again." Naoko's eyes narrowed and she gestured threateningly. "You won't do it again!"

In one swift movement, Gatti leaped forward, knocked the dagger from Naoko's hand and slapped her across the face. Her eyes widened, but she didn't look so wild.

"I'm sorry, Naoko. But you were hysterical." Gatti said, looking upset.

"I-I..." Naoko's knees gave out and she collapsed. Gatti barely caught her before she hit the floor.

"Naoko? Naoko!" He said, lifting her into his arms. "Naoko, c'mon, wake up."

She was unresponsive, her chest barely rising with her breathing. Gatti could feel the ominous heat of her body even through her clothes. Her face was the color of paper. Gatti carried her into the room, set her down on the bed and ran for Dilandau.


"A physician, I need a physician." Dilandau ranted. "She is not going to die on me. Gatti, I need a physician!"

Gatti stared at him, shocked by this display of anger. Surely Dilandau couldn't care this much about a traitor? He had wanted to kill her in the first place. They both looked up as Folken swept into the room.

"Folken, she can't die. Where's a physician?" Dilandau yelled at him.

Folken glanced at him, his eyebrow arching slightly. He walked silently past and pressed the fingers of his good hand to Naoko's neck. She lay perfectly still on the bed, one arm crossed over her stomach. Folken stood there for a second, frowning slightly. Then he looked up at Dilandau and Gatti.

"It doesn't look good." He said softly. "I doubt she'll live through the night."